Author lists exercises that explain the musical meaning of ragtime. (RK)

Author examined some of the ways that the art of composition is applied in jazz through concentrating on three figures - Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. (Editor/RK)

Examines a dissertation that provides a classification and analysis of 197 "bebop" themes. Explains a major drawback of the study is the author's unwillingness to interpret his data and answer questions the study raises. Concludes with a rebuttal which defends the study and explains the research rationale. (BSR)

Discusses the structural elements of ragtime. (Author/RK)

Outlines the history of ragtime, its early creators and development into a popular music form. (RK)

The author discusses the importance of the study of the contour of form and of a review of how music elements affect contour when studying jazz composition. When this has been mastered, students can begin the study of style. (Author/KC)

The author, long associated with the school jazz movement, called for the teaching of improvisation rather than cued-in transcribed solos. (Editor/RK)

Although the success of black jazz has been limited by its lack of recognition in the white-controlled music industry, its rhetorical development as an expression of black consciousness can be traced from the bebop of the 1940s and early 1950s, through the hard bop and free jazz of the 1960s, to the jazz orientation of the disco circuit in the…

The author suggests that instruction in musical improvisation can serve any student interested in music. Improvisation is defined, teaching suggestions are presented, and selected resources for teaching with improvisation are included. The emphasis is on jazz, though most information is applicable to other kinds of improvisation. (KC)

Offers suggestions for students and teachers for learning jazz improvisation. Discusses listening, practicing scales, chords, phrasing, developing a sense of swing, and shaping creative ideas through structural features. Emphasizes the relationship between chords and scales as a critical key to improvisation. Recommends educational materials to…

The author highlights some of the progressive trends in jazz band arrangements--woodwind doubling, synthesizers, strings, multipercussion, and other nontraditional instruments--and suggests sources for such scores to school jazz band directors. This article is part of a theme issue on popular music. (Author/SJL)

Discusses improvisation as a phenomenon. Offers suggestions for a learning sequence. Warns against allowing students to skip levels. Identifies developmental levels of improvisation as exploration, process-oriented, product-oriented, fluid, structural, stylistic, and personal improvisation. Urges that improvisation can and should be a meaningful…

Discusses how to teach improvisation to younger students by utilizing genres other than jazz, such as bluegrass, blues, ska, reggae, rap, klezmer, and rock. Describes each of these genres and gives a sequence of six steps to help music teachers organize classroom improvisation. (CMK)

Examination of lyrics of the blues and jazz forms of black music indicates their importance as communication. Contemporary styles can be divided into five overlapping categories: (1) "mainstream," the post-"bebop" style and soul jazz; (2) jazz influenced by other ethnic music; (3) the avant-garde jazz, which is often…

Provides some tips on jazz instruction for the beginning music educator who may not have had much experience in that field. Specifically recommends teaching guide tones, the root, third, and seventh chords, as an invaluable aid to jazz improvisation. Includes musical notation showing guide tones for two jazz standards. (MJP)